Standing face-to-face with Julius, the warden swallowed hard. He had no idea what Julius intended to do. The fact that Julius hadn't exposed him yet meant he still wanted something from him.
"I won't report you."
"...Yes?" Krüger blinked in disbelief.
Krüger had been preparing himself for the inevitable. He had even rehearsed what he would say, hoping Julius might spare his son as long as he complied. But Julius's words held a different meaning entirely.
Still, the uncertainty terrified him. Julius Sebastian Schneider was the son of the man destined to lead the German Republic. If this young man wasn't planning to expose him, then what was he planning?
A coup?
A power shift?
Nothing else made sense.
"You're a needed virus in this system," Julius said. "When your time comes, nature will handle it."
Krüger didn't respond. His throat was dry, and his thoughts were spiraling.
"For now," Julius continued, "I can use you. You understand what that means, don't you?"
Krüger did. And he knew the reality behind it. The Schneider Group's reach extended all across Europe. His son might as well be a hostage, even if he hadn't said it aloud.
"...Yes," he answered eventually.
There was no way out. Running overseas wasn't even an option. One call from the Schneiders, and any flight he took could vanish midair. Even if he tried to disappear quietly, he knew they would find him.
The only thing he could do now was survive long enough to delay the inevitable.
"Let's be clear," Julius said. "You knew Adler was already dead, didn't you? That someone replaced him to throw us off?"
Krüger hesitated, then nodded. "I suspected as much. They paid me extra to delete the surveillance footage, but I didn't realize they'd gone as far as replacing him. I don't know what their real intentions are."
Julius watched him carefully. SIBYL confirmed what Krüger said was true.
"That surveillance footage. Hand it over."
"...."
"I'm sure you kept a copy as insurance," Julius continued. "In case they decided not to pay you."
"...."
Of course, he had kept it. No one in his position would erase the only thing that guaranteed his safety. But what unsettled him was how effortlessly Julius had seen through him, as though Julius had reached straight into his thoughts.
Krüger exhaled slowly and turned toward his desk. "...It's on a private drive. I'll have it decrypted."
Julius nodded and turned to leave, but Krüger's voice stopped him.
"Mister Schneider… what exactly are we dealing with?"
Julius stopped in his tracks. For a moment, he said nothing. Then he turned his head slightly, his crimson eyes glinting.
"We?" Julius repeated. "You brought this on yourself, Krüger."
Krüger swallowed hard.
"Even I don't know," Julius said after a pause. "Is it a single entity? An organization? The Republic itself? The ones sitting comfortably in parliament? A Glassheart hiding among us?"
His eyes narrowed.
"Or maybe… it isn't human at all."
Krüger's face turned pale. He wanted to ask what Julius meant, but the words never came. His throat felt tight, as if even speaking might draw the wrong kind of attention.
"I don't know, I really don't. I came here thinking I could handle this at my own pace. But that's not an option anymore. There's always been someone pulling the strings from the very start."
In his previous life, Julius had thought "Nameless" was nothing more than a Revolutionary leader trying to tear the Republic down in the name of freedom.
But after his regression, the pieces no longer fit.
This went beyond any revolution.
It was as if something, or someone, was moving behind the scenes, silencing anyone who dared to speak, guiding history toward an outcome only it desired.
"You seem more worried about what I might do to you than what's coming for you, Krüger," Julius said. "If I were you, I'd start watching my back."
"What… what do you mean?"
"You might be their next target. No, almost certainly, you are."
The tone in his voice carried no room for doubt. It wasn't a warning, but a fact. Krüger understood then that this was the price for conspiring with Julius while working for the very people Julius sought to expose.
As Julius turned to leave, Krüger suddenly dropped to his knees and clutched at Julius's ankle, desperation evident in his face.
"Mister Schneider… please, help me…"
Julius looked down at him with disgust. "Huh? Shameless bastard. Get off me."
But Krüger's voice cracked, his fear overwhelming his pride. "I'll tell them! Everything you told me, I'll tell them all! That the Schneider Group's youngest son is plotting a coup!"
"...."
Julius stopped.
From his coat pocket, Krüger pulled out a small voice recorder. His hand trembled as he held it up. It seemed he had been recording their entire conversation from the start.
A sly, cornered animal always made sure to have insurance.
Julius shook his head and scoffed. "You dare threaten me, a Schneider?"
Krüger could not meet his gaze. He swallowed and tried to force out a reply, but the words lodged in his throat.
"What makes you think this will stop me?" Julius asked. "I'll go for your son myself and make sure his future ends with him."
"T-Then I will make sure this file gets sent to every major recipient!" Krüger blurted. "I will! Even if it costs my last breath. You will fall with me, Schneider!"
"Say that last word again."
"...."
Schneider.
"That's right," Julius said. "Whose words would they believe? Yours, a nameless warden, or me, the son of the next Chancellor?"
"T-That doesn't matter! Just a small test and they will know the recording is authentic…!"
"Yes, you might have had leverage two weeks ago," Julius said.
"What do you mean?"
"Do you really think any Schneider, besides my father, could enter this place on name alone?" Julius asked. He paused only a moment. "That's right, you bastard. I'm an officer of the Directorate."
Krüger's face drained of color. The possibility that Julius was more than a privileged son had never been more real.
If Julius was a member of the Directorate, every word and action could be framed as an official operation. If the Directorate suspected a traitor like Krüger, they would remove him cleanly, and no one would remember his name.
Thud——
Krüger's knees gave out. He sank to the floor in defeat.
"But out of the kindness left in my heart, I will help you," Julius said. "On one condition."
"Y-Yes. Anything… I'll do anything…!"
"Grant me access to your black market account."
Krüger blinked in disbelief, then scrambled for his datapad.
"You have one, don't you?" Julius asked. "Where you meet clients and sell information? Give me that account."
"Y-Yes. Right away," Krüger whispered, hands shaking as he handed over the credentials.
Julius had expected this. Krüger had taken the bait. What Julius wanted was direct access to the names that paid for state secrets.
Those contacts would lead him to the people bold enough to buy illegal information and to the networks that had been moving under the Republic's watch.
Krüger hesitated before finally handing over the account credentials. Julius examined the data, verified its authenticity, and gave a satisfied nod.
A crooked smile tugged at his lips as he extended his hand toward Krüger.
"...."
The warden froze, his gaze alternating between Julius's crimson eyes and the outstretched hand. For a brief moment, the room seemed colder.
It didn't feel like he was shaking hands with the son of a powerful family.
"...."
It felt like making a deal with the devil himself.
* * *
In a hotel room, a young man sat on the couch, scrolling mindlessly through reels on his social media feed.
When the door opened, another man stepped inside. The first didn't bother to look up.
"You sure took your time, Jakob," he said.
"It wasn't easy," Jakob replied, closing the door behind him. "There are people on our trail."
"Yes, it would seem so."
"I met him."
"Mister Schneider?"
Jakob nodded. "Yes. What did we use to call him again?"
"Brother Julius," the young man said with a smile. "But I suppose that's of the past. I'll admit, I was surprised he didn't even recognize me."
"Ah, yes. You did encounter him before, didn't you?" the young man said, leaning back against the couch. "Still, I suppose it's natural. He's forgotten all about us."
The young man's gaze darkened. The truth was, meeting Julius was unsettling. Of all people to run into, it had to be him.
"It seems we'll be seeing him again quite often," Jakob said, draping his coat over the chair.
"Indeed," the young man replied. "It's inevitable. We were all given the same education, the same courses, the same tools, the same way of thinking. Our paths were always meant to cross."
Jakob eyed him for a moment before nodding. "By the way, word about you is spreading fast. The Revolutionaries are starting to call you the Second Painter."
"Ah. Yeah."
The young man didn't seem to care and just kept scrolling. Truthfully, titles didn't matter to him.
"What about Adler?" he asked.
"I killed him," Jakob answered. "As you said, he'd seen your face. Didn't know who you were, though. And just like you predicted, Brother Julius was there."
"Yeah, I figured. No need for the details, Jakob."
"And he's specifically out for your blood."
"...."
The young man didn't respond. That wasn't surprising. It was always meant to end this way. Those raised in the same facility were bound by the same fate, to destroy one another, just as they were trained to on that day.
...If not for Julius, that fate would have already claimed them all.
"The Second Painter, huh?" the young man said, finally setting his phone aside. "I think that title suits Brother Julius more than me."
He rolled around the bed and, within moments, fell asleep.